Millions wasted on Tamiflu, research

Researchers who worked for years to obtain full data on flu drug Tamiflu from Roche reported on Thursday that governments are wasting millions of dollars on a medicine whose effectiveness is in doubt.

In a review of trial data on Tamiflu, and on GlaxoSmithKline's flu drug Relenza, scientists from the respected research network the Cochrane Review said that while the medicines can shorten flu symptoms by around half a day, there is no good evidence behind claims they cut hospital admissions or lessen complications of the disease, reported Fox News.

Yet Roche, which has been under fire for several years over its refusal to allow the Cochrane team unrestricted access to Tamiflu data, rejected the findings, saying it "fundamentally disagrees with the overall conclusions" of their study.

Tamiflu sales hit almost $3 billion in 2009 - mostly due to its use in the H1N1 flu pandemic - but they have since declined.

The drug, one of a class of medicines known as neuraminidase inhibitors, is approved by regulators worldwide and is stockpiled in preparation for a potential global flu outbreak. It is also on the World Health Organization's "essential medicines" list.

The United States has spent more than $1.3 billion buying a strategic reserve of antivirals including Tamiflu, while the British government has spent almost $703 million (424 million pounds) on a stockpile of some 40 million Tamiflu doses.

Wendy Barclay, a flu expert at Imperial College London with no links to the Cochrane Review or the drugs, said she still felt the benefits were worthwhile, particularly in a pandemic.

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